SvenskaThere has been an outbreak of meningococcal disease in Canterbury, Kent, England. Students have been affected, and deaths have occurred (please see Canterbury Meningococcus). You can be a carrier (about 10% of the population) of these bacteria without it leading to sepsis and/or meningitis. A so-called natural immunity – an asymptomatic carrier.
If you do get infected, the course of the disease is very rapid, and intensive care is required. A little bacteria that is not visible and in the worst case can be fatal.
Since there are at least 12 different serogroups, you can still get infected because you do not carry all the varieties asymptomatically. As early as 1805, epidemic meningitis was described. Transmission occurs through direct contact, close contact, such as university accommodation, military installations, or large gatherings such as the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Interestingly, vaccination is mandatory before certain pilgrimages. Not all. Right now, England is looking into whether students may have shared vapes.
The last major international outbreak was a scout camp in Japan in 2015, where 1,500 Swedish scouts were given antibiotics (ciprofloxacin) to prevent infection. Once the bacterial strain has been genotyped, perhaps vaccination can be expected to be effective. In Sweden, the Canterbury strain of meningococcus is rare, which is why, as far as I understand, it is not considered necessary to vaccinate. This is Canterbury, not Salisbury, where the Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned in 2018.
I will vaccinate myself against TBE soon. It is time again. Unfortunately, there are hospitalizations with meningitis (meningitis) or encephalitis (brain inflammation). After all, it is cozy tto go for a walk with a dog.